Decemeber 14
by Alcoholic Dinosaur
Summary: Heartbroken, 32 year old LCDR Nikki Caetano returns to Sydney to say a final goodbye to her mother. But as things develop, Nikki and her XO find out a simple car accident might not have been and simple accident. *WARNING* Possible character romance! :) Rated T for now, it might go up.
1. Chapter 1

December 14

AN: Jus a little something I whipped up, 2nd chapter is already in the works. Please Review And Follow

Disclaimer: I don't own Sea Patrol or the characters, yada yada

December 14, 1981

0259 HRS

Sydney Regional Hospital

Maternity Ward

Sydney, AUS

Angelia Caetano gently placed a kiss on her new daughter's forehead before glancing up and smiling at her husband. The nurse walked in with the birth certificate and a pen.

"Do you have a name yet?" She asked, putting it down on the table and uncapping her pen. Angelia looked up at her husband and nodded.

"Nicole Juliet Caetano."

32 Years later

December 14, 2012

HMAS Launceston

Arafura Sea

Nikki snapped open the door with such force it caused her executive officer to flinch as it slammed against the jam.

"What, Haynes?" She growled, obviously not in the mood to be bothered. He glanced down at the 5' 9'' Lieutenant Commander and saw red rims around her eyes, tell-tell signs of her crying.

"Mind if I come in, ma'am?" He asked, placing a gentle hand on her arm and pushing her inside, not giving her a chance to reply. He stepped in and closed the door as she fell heavily onto her desk chair. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, 6' 2'' well muscled frame looming over her.

"Spill." Haynes said, handing her a tissue. Nikki waved a hand at the piece of paper lying on her desk before sniffling. He reached forward and grabbed the paper, skimming over it before letting a look of sympathy fall onto his face. He gently laid it onto her desk and leaned back against the wall.

"I'm so sorry, Nikki. Were you and your mother close?" Haynes asked, watching her break down into tears again. He walked over and pulled her out of the chair and into a tight hug, thinking of her as a close friend and not as his superior officer. She clung tightly to his uniform as the words on the fax from NAVCOM rattled over in her head again and again.

"We regret to inform you that your mother, Angelia Caetano, was killed in a car accident in Downtown Sydney this morning. Commander Flynn has granted you 2 weeks leave to attend the funeral."

Nikki pulled back from her XO and wiped away another tear. She gave him a half hearted smile before setting down on the edge of her bunk. He turned and started to the door before stopping and glancing back at her.

"If you need anything, you know where to find me. I'll be on the bridge." He said, giving her a small, sympathetic smile.

"Thanks, Dan." She whispered before kicking off her boots and falling back onto the bunk and curling into the fetal position and crying herself to sleep. A few hours later, Haynes stopped in to check on her and found her curled up on top of her bunk.

"By the way, happy birthday." He whispered, flicking off the light and closing the door.

December 16

2132 HRS

Pier 7

Cairns Naval Base

Haynes stepped onto the bridge wing and watched as the crew secured the ship to the dock and the gangplank being secured onto the dock. He thought back to the few minutes he spent with Nikki a few days earlier and thought about how he had never seen her look so defeated before, even on the anniversaries of her fiancé's proposal and death. She had told him about that last month after she shocked the crew by having a near-mental breakdown on the bridge from trying to repress memories of it. He glanced inside and saw Nikki sitting in her bridge chair calmly sipping a cup of coffee. She turned and looked at him, letting him see the grief she was trying to hide. He saw the bags and dark circles under her eyes, making it look like she hadn't slept in years when in reality it had only been days. He stepped inside and glanced around the bridge, noticing she was the last person left.

"You just gonna sit up here all night?" He asked, walking over to her and gently rubbed her shoulder. She reached up and clasped his hand, before turning to look at him.

"Will you go with me?" She whispered, a single tear rolling down her cheek. He gently brushed it away, showing more intimacy than an XO should.

"Yeah. I'll go. When do we leave?" Haynes asked, propping onto the arm of the command chair.

"Tomorrow. I've already got the plane ticket for me, but I can get you one too. The flight leaves at 0830." Nikki said, standing up and moving away.

"No, I'll pay my own way. I'll see you in the morning, boss. Night." Haynes said, stepping off the bridge and down the stairs.

"Goodbye." She whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Here's chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the plot.

CHAPTER 2

0946 HRS

Somewhere over Australia

En Route to Sydney International Airport

Daniel Haynes looked over at his commanding officer, sitting slightly snuggled into his shoulder. She had fallen asleep almost the moment the plane had reached cruising altitude, dark circles under her eyes giving away a night of no sleep. He gently brushed some of her hair back, watching as she nuzzled deeper into his shoulder. Haynes pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, over-stepping over the line of CO/XO for a moment and leaned his head onto hers.

"Sleep tight." He whispered.

1237 HRS

Sydney International Airport

Baggage Claim 4A

Nikki stumbled towards the claim, slurping down a cup of coffee she had bought in the terminal. Daniel followed close behind, looking as bright eyed as ever, jet lag not affecting him just yet. They got their bags and headed for the car rental place, Haynes choosing to drive while Nikki slept. Pulling into the hotel parking lot, Nikki gave him a confused look at their location.

"What are we doing here?" She asked, setting up in the seat.

"Getting hotel rooms." Haynes said, turning off the car.

"I have a condo here in Sydney from where my parents wanted me to be a lawyer instead of a navigator." Nikki said, setting up the GPS in the car to direct him to the condo.

"This would have been nice to know earlier." He mumbled, pulling into the drive of the condo. They grabbed their bags and walked into the house to find a man in a dark suit prowling thru drawers. Nikki let out strangled cry as the man took off with Daniel right behind him. The man jumped into a SUV and took off, leaving Haynes standing in a cloud of dust and Nikki back in the house on the verge of a mental breakdown. He walked back to the condo where Nikki sat shaking in a kitchen chair. She got up and raced over to him, visually checking him for injures.

"Are you okay?" She asked, voice shaking.

"I'm fine. How 'bout you?" He said, pulling her into a tight hug and letting her head fall into the crook of his neck. She pulled back and looked up at him, lips mere inches apart. Their lips met in a chaste kiss, a simple brushing of lips, and then Nikki pulled back before it could go any farther.

"I...uh..should go call the police." She mumbled nervously, head down and cheeks a nice rosy color. Daniel watched her walk away, trying to figure out what just happened. The cops came and took their reports, leaving a patrol car to sit out on the block in case the perps came back. They cleaned up the papers hat had been tossed around and then made a little dinner. Sitting on the couch, plates in hand, they watched movie until Nikki was nodding off on the couch. She leaned over onto his shoulder before closing her eyes and falling to sleep. He picked her up and carried her up the stairs to her room, debating an inner battle on whether or not to slip into bed with her. All protest were silenced when she looked up and grabbed his arm.

"Stay. Please." She whispered, half-sleepy, half-pleading look in her eyes. He nodded and lifted the covers, sliding into the bed with his commanding officer and turning off the bedside light. His last thought before drifting off to sleep was 'I hope that's not her foot working its way up my thigh.'


End file.
